John Clark (Bob Steele) and his deaf pal, Bootch Collum (Buck Connors), are trailed by U. S. Marshal Lamar Bly (Jack Rockwell), who thinks they are part of The Kootney Kid's (Earl Dwire) ...
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Storyline

John Clark (Bob Steele) and his deaf pal, Bootch Collum (Buck Connors), are trailed by U. S. Marshal Lamar Bly (Jack Rockwell), who thinks they are part of The Kootney Kid's (Earl Dwire) gang, which had just held up the stage coach. But the gang attacks the pair, and Bly joins them in the gunfight. Bly is wounded and is taken to a Mexican's camp to recover. He gives John his badge and authorizes him to take up the hunt. The Kid, unknown to John by sight, is on a ranch which he hopes to gain legal possession of as it has oil. It is really John's by right, which he does not know until informed by his sweetheart, Joan Vallon (Roberta Gale.) The Kid has taken a letter from the stage holdup which he is using to establish his identity as the rightful owner named Everett Tarkington Clark, John's real name. John is in the courtroom when the Kid makes his claim, but his protest is overruled and he is arrested on suspicion of having killed Marshal Bly. He and Bootch escape and ride to intercept... Written by
Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>

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Trivia

This film received its earliest documented telecasts in Los Angeles Monday 27 June 1949 on KNBH (Channel 4) and in New York City Sunday 5 February 1950 on the DuMont Television Network's WABD (Channel 5). See more »

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User Reviews

The reviewer arfdawg-1 described this Bob Steele film as 'slow and boring'. Well, after seeing "Alias John Law", I'd certainly have to agree. While I often have enjoyed Steele's film, this one is amazingly low energy and not much fun to watch.

The film begins with some evil folks trying to shoot John (Steele) and Booch. Why, they don't know. However, the sheriff happens along at the same time and helps to drive away the baddies, but he's seriously injured in the process. John knows the sheriff and assumes his identity (???). His reasoning is that when he catches the baddies, he'll give the reward money to the sheriff. Why not just catch the guy and give the money to him after--this is a dumb plot device that not surprisingly comes back to haunt John. And, through the course of the film, it turns out that the leader of this gang is none other than the man that is out to steal John's inheritance--a very common theme in old B-westerns. With the help of his deaf friend*, the pair set out to restore niceness to the west.

There are many problems with the film in addition to its dullness. The plot is often riddled with clichés and holes. For example, twice the evil Kootney Kid is confronted by his underlings and so you KNOW that Kootney will almost immediately murder them! The worst was when one said '...you're not going to turn me over to the sheriff...if you do, I'll spill everything...'--and you KNEW what was coming next!! Additionally, while I like the idea of a deaf sidekick (since my own daughter is deaf), the way they handled it showed that they did no research. NO ONE is that good at reading lips. And, as a man who's been deaf all his life, his speech was way too good--both with annunciation and volume to his speaking voice.

The bottom line is that they made at least 237529351341 low budget westerns in the 1930s--surely you can find one better and more interesting than this one.

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